Dental Bridges in Hocking, Perth | Hocking Dental Care

A bridge replaces a missing tooth by anchoring a false one to the teeth either side of the gap. It is fixed in place, so unlike a denture it is not taken out.

A dental bridge is an appliance permanently fixed in the mouth to replace missing teeth. It uses the remaining teeth to support and stabilise the new artificial tooth or teeth.

The decision worth thinking about is not whether a bridge works — it does — but that it asks two healthy teeth to carry the cost of one missing one. Whether that trade is worth making depends entirely on the state of those two teeth.

The vocabulary, because you will hear it

A bridge is generally made up of two crowns for the teeth on either side of the gap, with the false tooth rigidly attached in between. The bridge can be made from gold, alloys, porcelain or a combination of these materials.

Abutment: One of the teeth either side of the gap that carries the bridge. It is prepared and crowned exactly as a single crown would be.
Pontic: The false tooth in the middle, suspended between the abutments. It rests on the gum but is not attached to it, which is why cleaning underneath it matters so much.
Span: How many missing teeth the bridge crosses. The longer the span, the more load the abutments carry, and there is a limit past which a bridge is no longer the right answer.
Connector: The join between pontic and abutment. It is deliberately solid, which is why you cannot floss through a bridge in the ordinary way.
Enamel-bonded bridge: A more conservative design using a metal or porcelain framework with wings resin-bonded to the back of the supporting teeth, so little or no enamel is removed. Also called a resin-bonded or Maryland bridge.

Two designs, and why the conservative one is worth asking about

Conventional bridge

Two full crowns and a pontic

Strong, well-proven and suitable for most positions in the mouth.
Requires the abutment teeth to be reduced for crowns, which removes healthy enamel from two teeth.
Makes obvious sense where those teeth already carry large fillings or crowns — they were going to need covering anyway.
Makes much less sense where they are untouched.

Enamel-bonded bridge

A framework bonded to the back of the supporting teeth

An enamel-bonded bridge uses a metal or porcelain framework to which the artificial teeth are attached, then resin bonded to the supporting teeth.
Little or no tooth structure removed, so the option stays open to do something else later.
Constructed by hand by our qualified dental technicians.
Best suited to replacing a single front tooth in a bite that is not heavy.
More likely to debond over time, though re-bonding is usually straightforward.

Where the neighbouring teeth are sound, we will raise the enamel-bonded design and the implant before the conventional bridge, in that order. Removing healthy enamel from two teeth is not reversible, and it is worth being certain there is no less costly route to the same place.

A bridge, an implant, or a partial denture

Three ways to fill the same gap. None of them is the right answer in general; the right answer depends on the teeth either side and on the bone underneath.

	Bridge	Implant	Partial denture
Time to complete	Two to three weeks	Several months, because bone has to fuse to the implant	Two to four weeks
Surgery	None	Yes, under local anaesthetic	None
Neighbouring teeth	Both are prepared and crowned	Untouched	Untouched, though clasps rest on them
Bone under the gap	Continues to shrink, as it does under any gap	Loaded through the implant, which is what slows that shrinkage	Continues to shrink
Cost up front	Moderate	Highest	Lowest
Cleaning	Under the pontic, daily, with a threader or interdental brush	Like a natural tooth	Taken out and cleaned
Fixed or removable	Fixed	Fixed	Removable

Both a bridge and an implant close a gap, and they suit different situations. A bridge is quicker, costs less up front, and needs no surgery, but it requires the teeth either side to be crowned, which means removing healthy tooth structure from two teeth that may not need anything.

An implant leaves the neighbouring teeth alone and replaces the root as well as the crown, but it costs more, takes months rather than weeks, and needs enough bone to sit in. Where the teeth either side already carry large fillings or crowns, a bridge often makes more sense. Where they are untouched, an implant usually does.

How a bridge is made and fitted

Assessment
X-rays of the abutment teeth and the bone under the gap. A bridge is only as sound as the teeth carrying it, so this is where a bridge is ruled in or out.
Preparation
Under local anaesthetic, both abutment teeth are shaped for crowns and an impression or scan is taken of the whole span.
A temporary bridge
Fitted the same day so the gap is not visible and the abutments are protected.
Fitting
Two to three weeks later the bridge is tried in and checked for fit, shade and bite before being cemented. Once it is cemented, it is not coming off again without being cut off.
A cleaning lesson
Not an afterthought. Almost every bridge that fails early fails because an abutment tooth decayed underneath the crown, and that is entirely preventable.

Cleaning under a bridge

You cannot floss between the pontic and the teeth holding it, because they are joined. So it has to be done underneath instead.

A bridge is cleaned differently from a natural tooth. Special floss threaders and interdental brushes get underneath the pontic, and doing that daily is what decides how long the bridge lasts. We will show you how at the fitting appointment, and it is worth five minutes of practice while somebody is watching.

A floss threader carries ordinary floss under the pontic like a needle threading cotton. Slide it along under the false tooth and up against each abutment.
Superfloss does the same job with a stiff end built in, and most people find it easier.
An interdental brush of the right size, pushed under the pontic from the cheek side, is quicker and is what most people settle on.
A water flosser is a useful addition and not a replacement — it flushes but does not disturb the film that is stuck on.
The margin where each crown meets its tooth, at the gum line, matters as much as the space under the pontic. That is where the decay that ends bridges begins.

Almost every bridge that fails early fails because the anchoring teeth decayed, and those are cleanable. Six-monthly examinations are the second half of it: an abutment margin caught early is a repair, and left alone it takes the whole bridge with it.

Common questions

Bridges: your questions answered

Do I have to replace a missing back tooth at all?: Not always, and it is a fair question rather than a reluctant one. If the tooth was the very last in the arch and nothing sits above it, leaving the gap is sometimes entirely reasonable. What argues for filling it is drift — the teeth either side lean into the space and the opposing tooth grows down into it over years, which changes the bite and makes any later treatment harder. We will give you a straight view for your particular gap.
How long does a bridge last?: Longer than most people expect when it is kept clean, and not long at all when it is not. Because the answer depends on the abutment teeth rather than on the bridge, the honest version is that it lasts as long as those two teeth stay healthy. That is why the cleaning lesson at fitting matters, and why regular examinations matter more after bridge work rather than less.
Can a bridge be removed if something goes wrong?: Not intact. It is cemented as one piece, so removing it means cutting it off and making a new one. That is worth knowing before you choose between a bridge and an implant, because it makes a bridge a firmer commitment for the abutment teeth than it first appears.
Will a bridge look natural?: On a front tooth, generally yes — the pontic is shaped and shaded to match, and the gum is contoured so the false tooth appears to emerge from it. The difficulty is where the gum and bone have already shrunk under a long-standing gap, which can leave a visible dip. That is assessable in advance and we will raise it before you commit rather than after.
Is it uncomfortable at first?: There is usually a few days of getting used to the shape with your tongue, and some gum tenderness where the pontic rests. Speech adapts within a week for most people. What should not persist is anything feeling high when you bite, and that takes two minutes to adjust — ring us rather than waiting for the review.
What does a health fund pay?: A bridge is major dental for almost every fund, so cover depends on your level of extras, on the annual limit and on any waiting period, which is typically twelve months on a new policy. Each crown and each pontic has its own item number. Ask us for the full list before you commit and your fund can quote the exact rebate.
Can I have a bridge if I have gum disease?: Not until it is treated and stable. A bridge places extra load on the abutment teeth, and loading teeth whose bone support is already reduced shortens the life of both the bridge and the teeth. Gum treatment first, then reassess — sometimes the answer changes to an implant or a partial denture.
I already have a bridge and one end feels loose.: Ring us promptly. A bridge that is loose at one abutment is usually a bridge with decay or a failed cement seal under that crown, and saliva and bacteria are getting in while it moves. Caught early it is often re-cementable or repairable. Left for months it is generally not.

All frequently asked questions

Next step

Book about bridges

We will go through the options, what each involves, and what your health fund covers, before anything begins.

Call (08) 9306 2755

Which system do you use?

Which system do you use?

Bridges

Which system do you use?

The vocabulary, because you will hear it

Which system do you use?

Two designs, and why the conservative one is worth asking about

A bridge, an implant, or a partial denture

How a bridge is made and fitted

Cleaning under a bridge

Bridges: your questions answered

Book about bridges

Which system do you use?

Which system do you use?